Amending ball
by chloemcg
Summary: Professor Layton and Alfendi Layton both go to Buckingham palace for a special ball to try and mend their bond as father and son. But what happens if a serial killer tries to assassinate someone in the ball, or even the queen? Can Al and the Professor get over their distant relationship and save the day?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Professor Layton series. The rights belong to Level 5 games and not me.**

 **Amending ball.**

* * *

The not-so-famed Mystery room was less hectic than normal as the occupants of the room were both chilling lazily on that warm day of Summer, the two people who worked in this special yet under appreciated room hadn't been working many cases as of late despite the fact that it was a sweltering time of year and many people had the day off so criminal activity should have increased.

Alfendi Layton, son of the famed Professor Hershel Layton, was simply reading one of the multiple newspapers that were stuffed into his coat pockets as he leaned back in his recliner. He let out the occasional groan of acknowledgement as his eyes skimmed every single word of every single article in the newspaper he had been lost to.

Detective constable Lucy Baker, his assistant, sat at the desk while doing various activities that could very well be a means as to pass the time. Her eyes explored several small files on petty criminals that she had arrested in the past but, unbeknownst to her, her friend/superior/mentor was reading up on a very special criminal indeed.

L'gent was an assassin whom targeted all of noble and wealthy status, his identity was unknown and he somehow always managed to worm out of the police's clasp. He had been scarily elusive and, according to the very few records found in the archives of this murderer, he was very interested in finance and had a reputation of grabbing the fortune from his deceased victims.

It was like Keelan Makepeace and the jig-saw killings all over again.

Alfendi let out a bored sigh as he reclined in his chair with his weight tipping the leather chair backwards. He softly held the newspaper in his hands with his slim fingers gently resting against the thinned pages. He felt yellow eyes widened as a certain article in his newspaper had arrested his attention. He jerked forwards and literally stuck his pointy nose into the news about said criminal as he exclaimed abruptly and inadvertently startling Lucy "L-Lucy! Have a listen to this!"

Lucy was shocked to hear the prof suddenly say something so hastily and pretty much collapsed to the floor out of pure shock. She let out a shriek of surprise and pain as she thumped to the ground and her whole body took the impact hard.

Al's eyes sparkled, he appeared to have suddenly been acting like a child on Christmas morning. He didn't seem to notice his assistant's tumble and he didn't even let the poor woman respond before he cleared his throat and read the article aloud.

"Ahem! ' _During the night the mysterious mass murderer, L'gent, has appeared to have struck again as he has slaughtered a wealthy young woman whom remains anonymous at this point. He remains at large and Scotland Yard is positively stumped by this case'_."

Alfendi closed his newspaper and rolled it up with a somewhat enthused grin tugging at his lips, his placid purple mop of hair bristling a bit when he became excited about this case. He hadn't had the pleasure of solving something like this in quite sometime and he wanted to get his mind away from the heat and dive right into this oh-so exciting case that he wanted to solve as quick as possible.

He looked over to the desk where the plucky detective constable was supposedly seated "Isn't this exciting, Lucy!?"

But then he noticed that Lucy nowhere to be seen and he blinked at this. Where had she gone? She had been there a few seconds ago and she seemed to have been pretty preoccupied with the files and paperwork that were stacked upon her mahogany desk. Alfendi frowned and stood up from his seat, had a hunch of what had happened started to walk up to the big piece of furniture and he curiously peaked around the desk.

What he saw made him really worry.

Lucy was laying on the ground. Al's excitement melted away and was replaced by concern as he darted to the young lady at record speed. Upon reaching her fallen form, Al knelt beside his assistant and peered worriedly over her in order to gain a visual examination "Goodness, are you alright?"

Lucy rubbed her swelling temple tenderly as she cracked her eyes open. It was obvious that beside hitting her head on the ground, she hadn't hurt herself too severely as she had simply seemed to tumble due to shock. Her cap had even become dislodged from her head and she reached around for it, her hand hovering about to try and grab her precious orange headgear. She was a tad disoriented as she searched around for her hat.

Lucy hissed softly "Urrrrggghhh...nowt to worry 'bout me, in fine fettle I am."

Alfendi couldn't help but be amused by his assistant's sarcastic reply. A small grin curled at his lips as he bent down and offered his hand out to his poor plucky assistant, he felt his grin expand when she took his hand and held it tighter than anything and she promptly risen to her feet with the assistance of the slightly older inspector.

The pair looked at each other in an awkward few moments, each of their cheeks flaring up with this red glow. Neither of them could avert their eyes from the other and they even felt strangely content with each other in some odd way. They kind of didn't want this moment to end —not that either of them would admit it— and you could just imagine the dismay they felt when an abrupt knocking on the door had broke the duo from their silence.

Lucy's Ruby eyes lit up as she exclaimed "A-Ah, must be t'door!"

She didn't waste much time in hastening to the door of the Mystery room. Her footsteps waded against the carpet floors, the soles of her plimsoles tapping softly against the featherlight-soft material with several items scattered and strewn untidily across it.

Lucy's eyes were solely focused on the door she headed towards and even reached her hand out to touch the doorknob just within inches of it. Her hand promptly gripped on the round golden object that was attached to the tall mahogany piece of wood and proceeded to pull it towards her, yanking it open.

Upon opening the door a crack, Lucy's eyes widened in response to seeing a familiar gentleman standing outside.

This man was quite tall in stature. He wore a brown velvet coat with a tall collar and he also wore matching trousers that complimented his jacket. Beneath the coat, he wore a rather baggy orange jumper that had a rather wrinkled neck hole to where his rectangular-shaped head poked out from. The one noticeable thing about this man, though, was his brown top hat that was perched proudly atop his head. The older gentleman's hazel brown hair had small strips of silver streaked the odd strand and he had very small age lines beneath his eyes to signify that he was getting on in his years.

Professor Hershel Layton —highly esteemed father of Alfendi Layton— stood patiently outside the door of the Mystery room as he rocked a little on the balls of his feet. His endearing little dot-like eyes were bright with chivalry and he even smiled a bit.

"O-Oh! Papa prof, what a shock!" Lucy exclaimed when she came face-to-face with the Professor.

Alfendi was equally shocked when he saw his father standing in the doorway, looking just as proper and gentlemanly as ever. Al's eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping open with shock but he also stiffened quite visibly and his shoulders were bunched and bulging from his lab coat; he was becoming anxious.

Lucy was unaware of Al's sudden change of mood and hardly hesitated on opening the door all the way to invite Professor Layton into the Mystery room and the Professor hesitated for a few moments before stepping into the untidy room with wonder evident in his dot-like eyes, he tipped his hat to Lucy gratefully and made his way over to Alfendi.

While he was passing through the door, the Professor smiled at Lucy "Nice to see you, Miss Baker."

Lucy smiled cheerily back at him. The two had met not too long ago when Lucy had received Professor Layton's post by mistake and he had invited her over as a token of gratitude. While she were over there, the older Prof explained how he had adopted Alfendi when he had found him as a delicate little infant. That just so happened to have been the same day where she and Al went to track down "Marianna Etista" and went out of the Mystery room.

But Al didn't appear to take so warmly to him as Lucy did.

Alfendi's golden/yellow eyes narrowed and he set his jaw as if to look menacing. His back and shoulders were hunched and his hair turned from its placid purple to its angry wild dishevelled Crimson colour, signalling his sudden shift in personality; he hardly moved from his spot as his glaring eyes never left the puzzle-loving Professor of archeology.

A very long few moments had passed through the room and Lucy read the uncomfortable silence and took her cue to leave for a little while so father and son could get properly reacquainted with each other.

"Well...uhhhh...I'll b-be sorting th-these files out, prof!"

Lucy grinned nervously as she hastily gathered a stack of files and proceeded to run out the door. She was out faster then a rabbit with a rocket strapped to its back as she carried the files out, not evening caring that some of the files she was holding had fallen from her arms and on to the collective clutter on the ground. She even slammed the door behind her.

This left both father and son alone in the room.

Neither dared to speak a word to each other for a long time, they just stood in complete silence.

After a few more moments, the Professor spoke up in an attempt to lift the tension. "...Well...your assistant seems nice,"

Al didn't speak for several more moments before he begrudgingly replied "...Yes, she's a polite and plucky young lady, but she has a habit of jumping to conclusions."

Professor Layton smirked wryly and furrowed a brow "Just like you used to?"

That remark might have struck a nerve since another long silence of awkwardness flowed through the room like a stream.

The two Layton's soaked in the completely awkward quiet that swam between them both and the one-sided hostility was enough to dampen the sweltering hot temperatures. The Professor was very cautious when it came to his son, regarding his temper and his split personality that had assisted in causing a rift between them both.

"Since when have you become aquatinted with my assistant anyways?"

The Professor responded to this question with a small smile, trying his best to choose his words carefully and not agitate Alfendi as this would be very unwise. He answered this question honestly and made an effort to keep his polite tone even. While he replied he scratched his chin thoughtfully whence he thought back to that morning where he met the Yorkshire-accented Detective Constable.

"Apparently my mail fell into her hands by mistake and she delivered it to me."

He kept his response short and his son even seemed satisfied with that answer.

Finally Professor Layton steeled himself when he decided to get to the point of his visit. This had been going on long enough and he didn't want to keep distancing himself from Al because he was sick and tired of just being a coward and it was his job to be there for him, something at which he felt he had failed at.

Before he had the chance to open his mouth, though, Alfendi spoke first and he beat him to the punch.

"What brings you here _anyway_?" He asked with his faux voice dark in tone.

The Professor swallowed hard and adjusted his top hat by twisting the rim of his headwear. He didn't know how he could answer this question without being so anxious, despite the fact that he was rarely anxious to begin with and he had never felt like this especially in front of his own son. He exhaled a deep sigh, closing his eyes and it took a long few moments before he let the words come out.

"...I...I was wondering if I could take you out somewhere, Alfendi."

Al furrowed a surprised brow at his father, looking aghast for a few moments.

"P-Pardon?"

The Professor smiled rather anxiously and clarified himself. "There's going to be a gathering at Buckingham palace and I was wondering if you would like to come with me?"

Alfendi just couldn't believe his ears. His father, did he just ask him to go to Buckingham palace...? To meet her royal highness!? If the younger man wasn't so hostile then he would have been screaming like a little girl from joy and his eyes even sparkled like those of a child on Christmas morning. But he maintained his composure and just asked his father calmly "You want me to come with you to a party at the queen's palace?"

The Professor nodded while looking at his son pleadingly, obviously hoping that his answer would be "yes".

Al really didn't fancy going outside at all but, despite how he had been feeling, he just didn't want to see his father disappointed. Not only that but going to _Buckingham palace_ was an exquisite opportunity and he knew he wouldn't be of sane mind to pass this chance up. His mind also lit up with an idea when he realised something else.

The serial murderer L'gent was assassinating all people of nobility and wealth. There was a high chance that he would be present for this, as well, and he would be ripe for the picking. The benefits of this were outweighing the negatives here but there were two things that made him worry: His "heritage" and his Split personality disorder.

Whenever he would go out into public places people would compare him with his father and criticise how unlike his father is and how ungentlemanly is. Not only that but he was pretty fearful that people would be afraid and intimidated of him because of how he would abruptly switch personas without warning.

It would seem that he was going to have to get over these worries, however.

Alfendi sighed, fiddling with the little curl atop his head while he thought hard and he looked down to the floor with golden/yellow eyes overflowing with anxiety.

Thankfully the Professor read his son's face like a book and turned around to walk out the door of the Mystery room. Alfendi took notice of how his father's feet were noticeably heavy upon landing on the ground, he seemed to limp a bit and he seemed to have been trying his hardest to hide it from him.

As the Professor walked out the door, he looked over his shoulder and said "I'll give you some time to think about it, I'll hopefully see you tonight."

With that the gentleman archeologist closed the door behind him and left the inspector to dwell in his own thoughts; Tonight. This special event at the Queen's palace was tonight.

He did want to go but how could he like this? He looked down at his lab coat stuffed with newspapers and pulled the sides of the coat apart to reveal his blue and red-stripped turtleneck and he looked down at his current attire with slight repulse. His eyes were firm with determination and a frown was fixed on his lips.

Thankfully it was then that Lucy reentered the room.

"So, Prof?" She started "Wot did your pop want to chat about?"

He didn't answer her.

Lucy just stood there with a look of perplexity plastered upon her face, the Prof was silent for several moments as his back was turned against her. Her ruby red irises flashed with pure confusion and shock as Al slowly turned to face her with a glance cast a serious look at her with his hair turned all Crimson and untamed.

A very heavy silence had been exchanged between the two and neither of them spoke a word to each other for what felt like decades. It was then that a somewhat devilish smirk pulled at his lips as he told her with a mischievous edge in his voice.

It was such a surprising request that if Lucy were drinking water at the time she would have spat it out.

"Lucy, please go out and get me a presentable formal outfit..."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, everyone! This is going to be a father/son fic between the Professor and Alfendi and I hope you guys enjoy it. I honestly can't wait to do this one because I already have some things in mind for later and I love the Layton brother games and I think that the idea of Al is intriguing.**

 **I also like Lucy's character, too.**

 **If they ever make a sequel then I hope we see our favourite gentleman puzzle-solver.**

 **Btw, if you want to see the story of when Lucy and Professor Layton meet (in my version) then just look at "Memoirs of the heart" fanfic.**

 **Please review and fave.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Professor Layton series. The rights belong to Level 5 games and not me.**

 **Amending ball.**

* * *

The formally-clothed inspector Alfendi walked down the concrete pathway with his hands plunged deep into his pockets. He had grown long since accustomed to the sensation of his hands being wedged between several rolls of newspapers sticking out of his pockets but he was pleasantly surprised to find that he was without that sensation, it almost made him feel naked.

The night was young and the moon was just getting into a position high in the deep blue sky.

Despite the normal moonlight serenity, the air was still on the warm side which was most undesirable when one was walking to make himself be as ready for the supposed-to-be cool weather as possible. The unpleasant nighttime warmth was almost enough to make any sane man turn tail and run to the nearest building with a fan and try to cool off.

But not for Alfendi Layton, whom had found the evening events far too important to miss out on. He even managed to get a decent outfit for the occasion, curtesy of Lucy.

He had been wearing an outfit he considered formal, which looked more as if he were going to a jazz concert then an actual formal evening; Al wore a fedora on his head, the headwear placed high atop his head. He also wore a pair of black velvet jeans that had dust collected on the material, with a matching dark grey long-sleeved top to compliment it —which also had dust clinging on to the front of it due to not being worn in ages— and he was wearing a grey leather vest over it.

Upon his request, Lucy had managed to go out and gather up an outfit that she deemed presentable although it seemed that she had also apparently got the cheapest outfit as the clothes he wore had apparently been buried in the back of the shop and had been long since neglected. The trousers and shirt seemed to have not been the favourites of the shop despite the fact that they were quite snazzy-looking, and it would have been a shame to just let them all perish.

Al didn't quite know how but he managed to scrape up an old fedora he kept and an old dinner jacket that had been locked away as well so he managed to make himself look quite dashing...in his own opinion, that is.

Basically the young man was finding himself wishing that he wore a regular T-shirt instead of a crisp plain long-sleeved one. He desperately hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't start sweating like a swine and that it wouldn't show in the queen's presence, he may not have been someone whom took pride in his appearance but that didn't mean that he didn't wish to be clean when being in the presence of royalty.

But there was one thing he wasn't quite looking forwards to —one person who made Al want to turn right around and head straight back to the Mystery room.

His father.

Oh, how Alfendi wished that he could just evade this altogether but he couldn't do that to the gentleman whom raised him and loved him as his own. He couldn't stand to see those intelligent yet sword-like black dot eyes fill up with sadness because just thinking about it made his heartache a little. Yet he wanted to keep as much distance between him and his father as possible...he couldn't bear the thought of hurting him _again_. It especially killed him when he recalled the fact that his father didn't even call him in years, he only called Comissioner Barton.

It hurt his feelings to think about it, and then he recalled the main reason for him attending this little soiree. That one other thing that kept his attention focused and this was his main motive to coming to this fancy event. That serial murderer, L'gent.

Al figured that L'gent wouldn't just pass up a chance like this, especially as this was like a special Easter egg hunt for the wealthy aristocrats in all of London. The murderer would have a field day with this golden opportunity and Al was ready with a concealed gun and a pair of handcuffs and even a little radio that would enable him to contact anybody in the Force the second he finds something suspicious.

If only he could catch him, only then would he put another criminal behind bars and keep everything he cared about safe...

The inspector barely realised how much time had ticked by when he stopped in his tracks and his breath had been swept away by the sweltering winds. He found himself heading towards the huge building that stood as one of the most famous in all of England. The Buckingham palace wasn't hard to find although he did have to navigate his way around the outside of it, the place was like a maze because it was so big.

He weaved through paths steered around corners and glanced at the occasional sign that would pop up on occasion to tell him whether he was going the right way or not.

But he eventually found himself standing right in front of some golden gates.

The gates were tall, so tall that it would give anyone a crick in their neck from looking up at it; they were sleek and golden with thin yet sturdy bars placed within two inches of each other to solidify the structure of this grand piece of architecture and a pair of guards were posted at these gates on either side of it, looking very stern and wielding tall poles with small blades attached to the end of each of them.

Behind the gates stood a gigantic building which had lanterns alit in a gentle glow alongside some torchlit guiding lights to allow people coming and going to see where they are going; a huge line of well-dressed people were even streaming to get through the front door, each individual standing patiently in this row of civilised aristocratic nobility.

Al felt so small and insignificant before the palace and the gates and he started to let the fear show on his face while his throat was beginning to become raw and sore. It was a bit intimidating for him as he was beginning to feel out of place in this scenario, he felt like an intruder -a blot on what would otherwise be a pristine and blank piece of paper. He swallowed his fear, however, and started to approach the two guards.

He didn't need to get even a foot away from the two when their defensive positions skyrocketed and they instantly used their staves to block his path. Their glares intensified when they fixed their eyes on him.

Alfendi started to wear a glare of his own.

He seriously hadn't expected to be stopped at the golden gates by two members of the queen's Royal guard and it kind of reminded him why he didn't like leaving the safety of Scotland Yard. His hair couldn't help but turn a shade redder at this.

 _Brilliant_.

Al just decided to do what one would normally do in this situation and he removed his ID —which was bound inside a brown leather casing— from his pocket held his police badge up, showing his identity to the pair of suspicious night guards, and he watched with great unease as the pair of stone-faced men glared steely-eyed sneers at the police badge and recoiled at the stern voices they used when one of the two asked him a question.

"And what business does an inspector of Scotland Yard have at this gathering?"

The young man was beginning to grow agitated. He didn't want to waste valuable time doing this and he had a very low level of tolerance that was beginning to show through his calmer demeanour, and the fact that his placid purple hair was starting to turn even redder and was becoming dishevelled wasn't making it less obvious...yet he kept his cool as best as he could while he exhaled deeply and chillingly answered. "I was invited by Professor Hershel Layton,"

"What relation do you have of him?" The other guard asked, arching a brow skeptically at the man whose hair was now starting to become dishevelled with irritation.

Clearly these buffoons hadn't initially read his ID properly or they would have guessed his relation to him. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes crossly at the pair of guards and he switched from "Placid" to "Potty" within a timespan of half a second. His crimson hair fell over his eyes and he scoffed heatedly at them with eyes filled with both crazed amusement and annoyance.

"And you two _dimwits_ are protecting old queenie from threats? Heh! What a laugh!"

Both guards' eyes widened with momentary shock when they heard that snarky remark but then they both scowled at Alfendi and they pointed their blades at him threateningly. They spoke with low voices that could peel the paint right off of a wall and their armoury flashed in the dim light being reflected off the moon.

"How would you like to be tossed in the dungeons?"

The inspector of Scotland Yard growled and stomped his foot angrily at them whilst he shoved his ID in one of the guard's faces. His yellow eyes swirled with annoyance and frustration and began to flash with a tint of light orange, an orange that almost perfectly reflected the angry fires of hell. "Then read this again, you daft behemoths!"

Alfendi's stubborn and fierce barking was getting through to them and they did as they were told, one of the guards squinted his eyes hard at the badge and Identification card as if he were looking for something like a blemish on it. Clearly he needed reading glasses and realising this made his teeth clench angrily whilst he tried to bite back another outburst, he raised his hand to adjust his fedora and reached up to touch the rim of it.

It felt as though centuries passed on by (when in reality it was three seconds) and recognition flickered in one of the guard's eyes and he no longer looked like some tough guy in armour but more like some giddy fanboy at some anime convention when they meet their idol. He beamed and he was just five seconds away from squealing like a little girl and asking him to sign something despite being at their throats moments ago.

The other guard seemed to realise his true relation to the Professor, too, and chortled loudly and glared mockingly at Al. "Hey, would you mind doing a puzzle fo-"

Enraged, Al cut them off before they could finish that sentence. His whole form had turned somewhat _demonic_ and his low tone had become serpent-like.

"Just because I'm Hershel Layton's son doesn't mean that I'm some kind of puzzle aficionado! So **NO** puzzles, just let me in!"

The two guards actually faltered a bit and started to quake a little with fear but then again Al could certainly be very intimidating if he wanted to be, he could probably strike fear into anyone's hearts should they even gawk at him strangely in the streets. He was very sensitive to others emotions since they found him a freak due to his obsession and they also loved to pick at every little imperfection he had.

One of the two guards chortled. "Well, you must be adopted because you are more of a freak then anything!"

Alfendi's eyes narrowed icily at the two guards who started to make fun of him and he wanted to cut out their tongues so badly. It took every bone in his body to restrain himself and resist the raising urge to maim these poor-sighted guards and it took a lot for him to not break each of their arms and twist them into pretzel knots.

But just because he was the son of a gentleman didn't exactly mean he was a doormat!

So, instead, his lips curled and he cackled menacingly while his hair (coupled with the darkness of night) hid most of his expression. His yellow eyes became sharper than needlepoints as they gleamed menacingly in the twilight blackness and his shoulders bunched up as he was so clearly restraining himself and trying not to let their insults get to him. But they hit him like a smack to the face, and he wouldn't just take that.

"Heheheh..." He sniggered darkly, causing the guard's to cease laughing, "A "freak"? Good one, guys..."

Alfendi went disturbingly quiet before he gazed at them both with evil eyes and his hair became so red that it became a touch darker than blood and even gleamed a little bit in the slight light coming off of their spears, his smile turned into a blood-thirsty smirk that would blaze itself into anybody's memory from how scary and intense it was.

"Now I've got a riddle for you: "What do you call two big-mouthed idiots dressed in golden armour, small, insignificant, feeble and seconds away from getting their tongues ripped out?" and the answer to this is " **YOU** if you don't make haste and let me inside right this second", I am NO gentleman so I won't hesitate in ripping them out if you do not let me inside!"

The inspector of Scotland yard's outburst seemed to have intimidated the guard's well enough that they were now practically quaking in their boots. Their eyes were full of alarm and they hid their faces in their helmets due to the fear they undoubtedly felt towards the man whom was so polite moments ago and was now like some sort of beast that nobody could actually tame.

They were especially scared witless when a sudden strike of lightning enabled his shadow to loom over them, blinding them for a moment. The shadowed replica of Al had fangs that were sharp and his mop of hair was exactly the same as the actual man but a little more daunting, and his eyes were narrowed like snake-like slits when the shade's monstrous fists stretched out over them.

The guard's weren't even hesitating in opening the gates anymore as they hurriedly unlocked it and stepped aside and as stood as far from the man as possible. They let him through the huge and grand golden gates by shoving it open with shaky hands and allowed the younger man to through and into Buckingham palace.

It wasn't even three seconds after this before the man's hair quickly changed back into its purple colour and his whole demeanour had become more pleasant, his aura had even completely changed. He started to happily canter through the opened doors and Alfendi tipped his hat pleasantly to them.

"Thanks for the delightful chat, gentlemen."

Alfendi seemed oblivious to the outburst he had just had in front of the guard's since he was focused on his objective to getting inside as soon as possible and hopefully getting back to the Mystery room as soon as possible, and all Al had to do now was meet up with Lucy and his father inside the grand and luxurious building.

But the frightened Royal guards looked at each other, still shaking in their armour even long after the man trotted inside.

Their eyes were huge with terror and their teeth could be heard loudly chattering through the heavy golden metal they were wearing on each of their bodies; they had trained practically their whole lives to serve the queen and protect the castle gates from any evil, they even pledged their lives for their gracious and just ruler...but they hadn't imagined being insulted and reduced to shivering piles of metal by a mere man.

No...this was no regular man. Demon is a better description. They had not known how it were possible for a man raised by the famous Hershel Layton, the most esteemed and smartest gentleman in all of the UK, could turn out so terrifying.

* * *

 **A/N: ...Ok, so Alfendi is now at the party and he now has to join with Lucy and the Professor and they can hopefully get this thing underway. It seems that Al's "tactic" to getting in worked and now he's probably ended up traumatising those two guard's for life.**

 **What other shinanagins will transpire at this little shindig?**

 **Btw, it was my B-day yesterday so I'm having a day to relax after my exhausting day and I'm sorry this took long to update because I'm attempting to make this a short story like "Down goes the apprentice". There's also a chance that Luke won't be in this story and I'm sorry about this, folks.**

 **One more thing. I'm sure you have heard that the creator of PL, Akira Tago, has sadly passed away. This story shall now be dedicated to him.**

 **Rest in peace and thanks for giving us the gift of Professor Layton, dude.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Professor Layton series. The rights belong to Level 5 games and not me.**

 **Amending ball.**

* * *

The soft stream of a beautiful symphony of instruments flowed through the air.

Buckingham palace was basically bustling with nobles and wealthy aristocrats whom were extremely anxious to get inside the tall exquisite home of the Queen of England to evade the chills of the outdoors; a multitude of voices murmured as it mixed with the rich music which had played.

Lanterns were aglow with softly lit lights to light up the garden in some glorious array of stunning beauty.

Professor Layton stood idly in the grounds of Buckingham palace, his back leaning heavily against a wall and he had his famous top hat seated in an odd position so it was sunk unusually low over his eyes. He examined each blade of shortly-trimmed grass that surrounded his feet and mentally counted them to pass the time.

He was awaiting his son to come and join him in the castle garden and he had been left waiting for a few minutes and he was beginning to grow concerned that Alfendi still had yet to appear. He supposed that the inspector was always fashionably late when it came down to these sorts of occasions, he of all people knew how his son was when it came to formal events and parties and it seemed that the young man had hardly changed since the last time he seen him.

But there was also a deep chasm in his heart, a chasm that deepened and started to make its way towards old wounds that had been deeply scratched upon it.

The Professor could hardly believe this was actually happening, that he had managed to convince his son to come with him to this formal occasion in an attempt to reconcile; he was certain that Al had other motives to coming along, given his outright distain for parties and gatherings with large quantities of people since he always was quite an introvert and liked to hide away.

He never did like being in a large group, even as an infant. Each time he'd be confronted by a mass of people, he'd instantly try and distance himself from everyone else or cry his eyes out silently whilst making himself small and invisible in whatever way he could.

The professor knew that Al was mainly interested on catching some sort of criminal, he knew that his son had more of a motive to attend this gathering. Yet he hardly cared for those other motives...because he _had_ to make amends with his son.

He had let Alfendi down once, he couldn't bare to do that again.

But there was also the fact that he could never forget that fateful fight with Alfendi, the first and last serious fight he ever had with him since the incident in Forbodium, he couldn't forget it no matter how hard he had tried. After all how could he? It all started with the quarrel that transpired right before Al's SPD came about when their relationship took on a huge strain...

Well, after he'd been forced to disappear for awhile that is...

* * *

 _It was raining cats and dogs as Big Ben chimed outside. A crashing cymbal of thunder smashed through the air and a sudden streak of lightning pulsated like some vein in the dark grey/black sky._

 _Professor Layton stepped into his office based at his quaint little room in Greensheller university, the place where he called home most of the time and the place where he . His thoughts had been weighing on his mind and he felt a cold hard knot twist in his gut and his head became heavy with these guilt-ridden thoughts._

 _He opened the door with the image of his signature top hat curved into the wood, and he saw his son standing before a mirror as he stared pridefully at his own reflection. Alfendi had his chest puffed out and he wore a wry smirk of determination on his face and he also looked quite nervous for this was the night of when he would be included in his very first case out in the field._

 _The gentleman's office was crammed with various fossils and puzzles, etc. But there were some dimly lit candles that lit the room in a soft amber glow that was soothing and managed to perfectly reflect the anxious calm atmosphere that was currently in the air in the office. The cushions of the sofa was covered in dust and the old desk that was used for cleaning up and studying ancient ruin samples was covered in even more dust, even some fossils that had been perched atop the surface of the desk were now collecting dust due to how little care the owner had put into them._

 _Next to the desk stood an old antique mirror that the Professor's son stood in front of whilst admiring his reflection; Layton just stood in the doorway, gripping the frame with a deflated posture, and he looked at his son with a mix of anxiety and guilt etched all over his rectangular face._

 _He had been seriously worried when he had discovered that his detective son had been assigned to be apart of the chase for a dangerous serial killer, and he was greatly concerned since Al had only been promoted to his new post three months prior and was being pretty dismissive and lax about it._

 _Alfendi was only 25 years old and he didn't take anything seriously when he ought to have been. Heck, he didn't even seem the least bit afraid of the fact that he was going after a dangerous criminal and it was this arrogance mixed with his hot-headedness that had also made his top-hat-wearing puzzle enthusiast father very troubled about it._

 _And now the Professor was about to dash his adopted son's hopes and dreams..._

 _He withdrew a long breath from the depths of his lungs and steeled himself. He knew that this chat was going to be most unpleasant. He let go of the door, softly swinging it closed behind him and approached the man slowly with his steps heavy and his arms weighed down._

 _He didn't want to hurt Al but this was purely for his safety._

 _Al turned around, hearing his father approaching, and he smiled happily. "Hello! What can I-"_

 _He stopped in mid sentence. He caught sight of his father's forlorn expression and concern had become apparent on his facial expression, yellow/golden irises gleamed with this very slight worry of seeing his gentleman father so downcast._

 _"What's the matter, father?"_

 _The Professor didn't reply instantly as he knew that he was just about to crush Alfendi's hopes and dreams of joining his first real case. This was the last thing he wanted to do, if he was totally honest, but he had to keep telling himself that this was for the young man's own good. He didn't wish for him to get hurt and he knew that he had to be very delicate when it came to wording this, Alfendi was prone to have a very bad temper which could flare up._

 _He exhaled through his mouth, blowing a bit of his stress away softly, and he said in an even and calm tone._

 _"...I do not think it wise to go on this mission..."_

 _A long silence passed after those words left the gentleman's mouth. It was very unnerving and it sent chills down the professor's spine and he awaited a response from the stunned young man. It took only a minimum of ten seconds before the professor heard his son finally speak and he listened very carefully when he did speak in a shocked tone of voice._

 _"W-Why not?"_

 _Professor Layton was a bit less reluctant now. He came a bit closer, approaching Al from behind and keeping his voice nice and even and to try and avoid butting heads with his boy._

 _"Because you are about to go out to chase after a dangerous man who killed many people and be sent out into the field when you have barely been promoted,"_

 _He spoke surprisingly more deadpan and blunt than normal, his rich polite voice dripped with sarcasm. The gentleman professor couldn't help but flinch when a flash of lightning struck outside, being accompanied by the loud crack of thunder. It was just after getting over the shock that he looked at his son with beseeching dot-like eyes that pleaded for understanding and he nervously rubbed his left arm._

 _Alfendi rolled his eyes and sighed lamely._

 _"I've been helping tracking this guy down for months," He exclaimed "I worked hard on this!"_

 _The Professor just looked hard at the twenty five year old. He knew how hot-headed and roguish Alfendi could be and it was for that reason that he doubted this claim but he wasn't going to just say that out loud and be so ungentlemanly to light a fuse that would set off the hot-head._

 _But he countered reason with logic._

 _"Son, this Keelan Makepeace character might not be so willing to falter before you."_

 _"Pardon? I can be quite an intimidating adversary!" Al proclaimed._

 _"Are you so certain?" The Professor countered, eyes narrowing as his blood begun to boil and his fists started to tremble. "Sometimes such arrogance can lead to ones downfall!"_

 _Al scoffed dismissively and gave a swift wave of the hand "Please, it's not like I'll actually get hurt or anything!"_

 _The young man's lax and inconsiderate tone began to frustrate the normally-calm, normally-patient gentleman archeologist. He inhaled deeply, sucking back all the emotions that he tried to keep from breaking through his calm demeanour and making sure to keep them out of his rich deep voice. He clenched his fists at his sides and closed his eyes to calm himself as he replied rather shakily, "I just worry about you, son, especially since you've just been promoted to a detective."_

 _Al didn't speak a word but his calm purple hair noticeably bristled, this becoming visible despite the pale candlelight. His head started to duck low in between his sagging shoulders and his posture stiffened when he finally started to move a bit._

 _He turned to face his father and smiled a bit, even though that smile was most unsettling._

 _"Thanks for the concern but I'll say it once more. I will be fine."_

 _Professor Layton was still for a few moments and he managed to discern that Al was still trying to dress this up as no big deal, that he was trying to keep up that over-confident façade when he started seeing that, he couldn't help but feel the frustration build. His heart ached more and more but he felt like he had to do this, his fists clenched._

 _"Alfendi, I implore you to take the night off. Plea-"_

 _Al whirled on his father with such an intense look in his eyes, his own hands clenched into fists at his sides and his body shaking. His hair was now a boiling angry red colour and it was bristling pretty noticeably and that included the little curl on top of the mop of unruly curls._

 _"I have worked too hard on this, I **HAVE** to be there to apprehend this criminal!"_

 _The Professor felt himself obligated to hold his tongue when he noticed the atmosphere shift but he couldn't help but glare darkly at the young man "I know that! But I cannot standby and watch my own son fling himself into likely danger!"_

 _If it were even physically possible then Al would probably have smoke blowing from his ears. His whole face was reddening and his fingers were twitching as wildly as much as his hair was untamed. His noodle-thin arms were shaking with unbridled fury and his knees were caving now. Heck, his teeth were grinding so much that sparks were erupting due to the friction._

 _He barked adamantly with a childish stamp of his foot. "I'm going, papa, and you can't stop me!"_

 _The Professor had reached the end of his tether, he was now rendered from calm and composed to a flaming ball of anger and hurt and he didn't even realise it, oh how he seriously didn't since the words that flew from his mouth were words he would regret saying for the rest of his life._

 _"Well if you feel that way then maybe you should just leave!"_

 _And then there was silence..._

 _The only sound was the sound of the grandfather clock ticking._

 _Father and son stood in the room, frozen and breathing deeply due to the fact that they were recovering from yelling so much._

 _Both Layton men hardly ever yelled at each other, this was the first big shouting match they ever had, and they were just now starting to truly absorb what was going on now._

 _Alas what was just said slowly dawned on the professor._

 _He was absolutely disgusted at himself that he had gotten so cross that he actually told his son to leave. He didn't mean it, he really and honestly didn't mean it! He had just gotten so angry that...! He didn't mean to...! He didn't mean to say such things about the boy abandoned by the merseyshore docks that he'd taken in when he was just a baby. The Professor's dot-like eyes widened with horror and he tried to retract that statement. He was stumbling and stammering to correct things with the 25-year-old whom had grown dependant on him for emotional support._

 _...The man whom was undoubtedly and unsurprisingly hurt, especially given the look on his face._

 _"A-Alfendi, I-I-I...!"_

 _But the damage had already been done._

 _Alfendi, whom had froze with teary eyes filled with shock and hurt, just shoved his father to the ground whilst running passed him and made a break for the door._

 _He was so unsteady and frantic with his thoughts and emotions that his whole body was shaking and trembling to try and shove the door open. His hands were trembling like mad and his eyes burned evidently from the tears in his eyes as he tried to open the door. He hardly seemed in a proper state of mind to think logically and twist the knob before the angry and hurt young man desperately tossed his body at the door, using his body as a battering ram which actually opened it, and he shot like a bullet down the hallway and out the front door._

 _Thunder boomed in the distance._

 _The Professor's mind was a mess of thoughts. He tried to comprehend all that had transpired in these few seconds and his heart had broke into a thousand pieces by now. His top hat had even fallen to the ground when he had been pushed!_

 _Professor Layton watched with a deeply saddened expression on his face, as he lay there on the floor. He couldn't help but let out his frustration by crying out and slamming his fist against the floor, causing a loud and tremendous thump, and causing quite a bit of pain to his hand. He knew that he was supposed to be a gentleman but gentlemen never cast their children away and let anger get the best of them, he couldn't help but sob sadly as he slumped heavily to the ground._

 _All he could think about was the one question that rang through his mind:_

 ** _"What have I done...?"z_**

* * *

As Professor Layton's mind drowned in a whirlpool of regret for his actions that day, he had found that he had become totally ensnared in the twists and turns of his own mind...which some could say was a puzzle all on its own.

Then his eyes snapped open and he jerked abruptly when he felt a sudden pressure plop down on his left shoulder and he found himself blinking repeatedly to snap himself out of his daydreaming session; it didn't take too long before he readjusted his vision by blinking repeatedly and saw that he was staring Detective constable Lucy Baker right in the face.

She wore a big frown on her face as she looked down at him and she asked, her Crimson pools swimming with worry for the top-hatted gentleman's wellbeing, "You alright, Papa Prof?"

The Professor still blinked a few times, trying to regain a firm grasp on reality, and he was quite confused for a few moments before he recalled what he had been doing before this. It seemed that he had fallen into a state of deep thought whilst he had been awaiting Alfendi and Lucy's arrivals. One could think that, thanks to the fact that he was truly getting along in his years by now, that he was finally losing his grip on himself and it was probably safe to assume that he was very much prone to slipping off into dream-land.

It was fair to say that Lucy thought that he'd done just that...and she wouldn't be wrong for thinking that, to be honest...

Professor Layton just smiled reassuringly at Lucy and gave a brusque nod of the head.

"I...I am indeed, Miss Baker, my sincerest apologies for alarming you. I was just thinking..."

Lucy didn't appear to have been totally convinced and didn't seem totally satisfied with that answer, but she seemed to decide to leave it all alone and she gave the older gentleman small and rather sincere smile of her own. She glanced down at herself and nervously gripped at her own two hands, trying to hide a small doubtful frown on her lips.

"So! How d'I look?"

The Professor of puzzles noticed that the young detective constable was very nicely dressed.

Lucy wore a very pretty silver silk gown that was covered with glittering sparkles and there was a nice little corsage clipped to her chest. She had a nice floral shawl draped over her shoulders, presumably worn to keep her warm in the cold evening. On her feet were glossy shoes that went splendidly with her dress. Her light chestnut brown hair was neatly brushed and had a nice little floral hairclip in it. She twirled on her feet, letting the long hem of her dress swirl with her as she shown off her elegant appearance.

Professor Layton smiled politely.

"Very stunning, Mrs. Baker."

Lucy's cheeks flushed as she chuckled at the compliment, her eyes glimmered and she tried to look away from the gentleman puzzle enthusiast to vainly hide her blush. She brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and she shuffled her feet, clearly she was a touch embarrassed. She muttered something under her breath in response but it was quite inaudible due to the fact that it was way too high-pitched to try and comprehend.

The Professor was about to open his mouth to ask the young lady to speak up and repeat whatever she said but he didn't get to because it was that moment when then that Alfendi finally made an appearance as he weaved through the crowd and made his way towards them with a somewhat nonchalant expression on his face.

He (like Lucy) was looking nice for the occasion and even wore a nice fedora to hide let his curly hair hide and, thus, allowing the unruly strands to cover his eyes. He was also dressed in quite an outfit that looked kind of like he was going to perform some jazz music or something. The young man had a slight slouch in his posture but he what mattered most was that he had appeared and had bothered to dress up at all.

Professor Layton smiled happily, a gleam of relief flashing in his dot-like eyes.

"Nice to see you attended Alfendi!" He exclaimed happily, putting a hand on Alfendi's shoulder.

Alfendi shifted on the soft and was evidently uncomfortable with having his father touching his shoulder but he just stood and bore it. He heaved a deep-throated sigh whilst he hung his head tiredly, his hair wild and coloured in a cool placid purple.

"Sorry I'm late, I had some trouble with the guards..."

When he mentioned the guards whom were posted by the front gates, his right eye twitched irritably and he grinned as though he wanted to kill the nearest living thing but he quickly shook it off and decided to strike up a conversation with his father...or as pleasant a conversation as he could bring up considering that "Potty prof" was in control for the moment.

"You look nice this evening, father..."

The Professor smiled gratefully despite the awkward atmosphere that had started to set in, he pulled his hand off of Al's shoulder and used the other hand to adjust the position of his favoured top hat. Silence settled in when the two had run out of things to say to each other fairly quickly.

The Professor knew that he had failed as a father in a few aspects but he knew that making amends with the sulky and socially awkward young man was desperately needed should he wish to continue to have a relationship with his only son.

He'd have to be as punctual as humanly possible should he wish for a successful reconciliation with Alfendi...

"You look quite smashing yourself, Prof!" Lucy exclaimed suddenly, breaking the ice between the two.

Al's whole face turned as red as his hair, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his mouth was agape. His body was shaking and his knees were caving in, he was even sweating quite a bit all of a sudden as well. A huge lump formed in his throat and he couldn't help but fiddle with his sleeves a bit as he cast his gaze downwards, appearing to be rather shy all of a sudden. But he somehow managed to lift his eyes up again so he could properly look his assistant in the eye.

"W-Wow, Lucy..." He gulped, his eyes fixated on his assistant "you l-look very n-n-nice..."

Lucy smiled timidly and nervously shuffled her foot against the ground.

"Ee...T-Ta very much, Prof..."

Al coughed suddenly, taking a split second to glance over his shoulder so he could evade her eyes, and he spoke through a rather rasped yet embarrassed tone as he smoothed his own wavy mop of curls backwards in one sleek hand movement. He tried to hide his reddened face but had failed miserably at this.

"W-Well then, let's not forget that our objective is the aristocratic-killer -L'gent. We need to stay focused..."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, everyone! Sorry that this took so long to update, I had been very unwell for the past few weeks (and I've been busy with other fanfics) but I'm recovering now and so I thought that you guys deserved a reward for your patience.**

 **Now this fic is going to be a bit difficult to fit in with my newer fanfics that take place before this but I'll try and make it work as best as I can for you.** **It appears that we may get some romance in here, I've got the other chapters of this prepared and hopefully I'll update this quicker than I have done previously.**

 **I hope you all like this anyway!**

 **PLEAAAAASE review!**

 **-Chloemcg**


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